GREENING INITIATIVES

​Bar Harbor restaurants are working together to find uses for food waste, as well​ as looking to reduce waste from to-go containers, flatware, returnable bottles, cans, cups, and straws.

Here at BHCC, we work hard each year to add to our sustainability efforts by:

Using compostable plates and utensils

Implementing a kitchen scrap program that is either composted or donated to local pigs, chickens, and farms

Increasing our recycling program

Only giving out straws when requested.

​Other initiatives are in the works and we look forward to working with other environmentally-conscious businesses to come up with even more greening ideas!

Sustainable Food Business Pledge

We have pledged to:

Stop using plastic straws and drink stirrers

Replace all foam (polystyrene, Styrofoam™) products with products that are truly biodegradable

Stop using plastic bags for to-go orders

Use reusable and washable cups, plates, bowls, and utensils

Stop using regular plastic garbage bags

Compost food waste (or give it to farmers) and compostable products

agri-cycle

​​Agri-Cycle is New England’s premier food waste collection service. We have partnered with them to convert everything from scraps to expired packaged food into clean, green energy.

According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 40% of food produced in the U.S. is wasted each year, and the majority winds up in landfills. When food decomposes in a landfill it produces methane, which is approximately 20 times more potent in trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Through a process called anaerobic digestion (see the image at right), it captures those harmful greenhouse gasses, harnessing them to use as clean fuel and fertilizer.